Trump issues warning for Tehran residents as Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes

US President Donald Trump urged civilians on Tuesday to evacuate Tehran “immediately” amid rising tensions]1 between Israel and Iran.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!

“Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he said on his Truth Social platform.

Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron called for strikes against civilians in Iran and Israel to end, as he warned against forcing regime change in Tehran, AFP reported.

“If the United States can achieve a ceasefire, that’s a very good thing,” Macron told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada, just as the White House announced President Donald Trump would leave the event early due to the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Fox News reported he would convene his National Security Council.

Macron called on both Israel and Iran to “end” strikes against civilians and warned that aiming to overthrow Tehran’s clerical state would be a “strategic error.”

“All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken,” he said.

After months of attacking Gaza — flattening homes, targeting hospitals and aid workers, and starving a besieged population — Israel expanded its assault across borders, launching wide-scale air strikes against Iran last week. Israeli officials have claimed the strikes are part of a broader operation codenamed ‘Rising Lion’ to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Tensions have escalated since Friday, with more than 224 Iranians killed and over 1000 injured, most of them civilians. Israel says 24 people have been killed, mostly civilians.

Iran is a party to the NPT, whereas Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons.

Israel possesses around 90 nuclear warheads, according to the US-based Centre for Nuclear Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. There are multiple United Nations (UN) resolutions concerning Israel’s nuclear arsenal, including UN General Assembly Resolution 41/93, which urged Tel Aviv to renounce its weapons and place its facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

Iranian media soon reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran early on Tuesday. Air defences were also activated in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations 320km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported. A White House aide said it was not true that the US was attacking Iran.

In Israel, air raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv after midnight, and an explosion was heard as Iranian missiles targeted the country again.

According to AFP, Israel’s army warned early on Tuesday that it had detected new missiles launched from Iran, but swiftly dropped an alert and said people no longer needed to take cover.

“It is now permitted to leave protected spaces in northern Israel,” the Israeli army said on Telegram.

Sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, according to two Iranian and three regional sources.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Tuesday that President Donald Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran even as hostilities have escalated between Israel and Tehran, while a White House aide said separately that Washington was not attacking Iran.

“Of course,” Hegseth said on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” show when asked if Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.

“We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here,” Hegseth said.

“If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. “Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.”

Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that Israel was committed to eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, adding, “If this can be achieved in another way—fine. But we gave it a 60-day chance.”

FMs from 20 Muslim states call for ending Israeli hostilities

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared a joint statement by Pakistan and 19 other countries’ foreign ministers that strongly condemned Israel’s recent military attacks against Iran, calling for de-escalation and swift return to negotiations for a sustainable agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.)

The leaders of 20 nations called for the urgent necessity of establishing a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction, which should apply to all States in the region without exception in line with relevant international resolutions. There is also an urgent need for all countries of the Middle East to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), they emphasised.

The foreign ministers highlighted the paramount importance of refraining from targeting nuclear facilities that were under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, in accordance with relevant IAEA resolutions and United Nations Security Council decisions, as such acts constituted a violation of international law and international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Chinese urged to leave Israel

With security concerns growing and Israeli airspace closed because of the war, the Chinese embassy in Israel urged Chinese citizens to leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible.

The Iran-Israel air war — the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies — escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran’s state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the BBC that the Natanz plant sustained extensive damage, likely destroying 15,000 centrifuges, while Iran’s Fordow plant remained largely intact.

Talks between the United States and Iran, hosted by Oman, had been scheduled for June 15 but were scrapped, with Tehran saying it could not negotiate while under attack.

Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack that has killed nearly the entire top echelon of Iran’s military commanders and its leading nuclear scientists. It says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in coming days.

Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to US demands that it accept strict curbs to its nuclear programme.

“As I’ve been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday.

A US official said Trump would not sign a draft statement from G7 leaders calling for a de-escalation of the conflict. The draft statement says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and that Israel has the right to defend itself.

On Monday, Iran state TV resumed live coverage after Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building.

“The Zionist regime, the enemy of the Iranian nation, minutes ago conducted a military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran news network”, part of IRIB, said Hassan Abedini, a senior official at the broadcasting service. “The regime (Israel) was unaware of the fact that the voice of the Islamic revolution and the great Iran will not be silenced with a military operation.”

The blast occurred as the presenter was live on TV, lambasting Israel before she was seen leaving the live broadcast, Iranian media reported, sharing a video of the incident. The attack was confirmed by the Israeli defence minister as well.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemned Israel’s strike on an Iranian state broadcaster and called for an end to the “bloodshed”, Al Jazeera reported.

“CPJ is appalled by Israel’s bombing of Iran’s state TV channel while live on air,” CPJ Regional Director for the Middle East Sara Qudah said. “Israel’s killing, with impunity, of almost 200 journalists in Gaza has emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region. This bloodshed must end now.”

Earlier, Israel’s Haifa-based Bazan Group said all refinery facilities have been shut down after a power station used to produce steam and electricity were significantly damaged in an attack by Iran, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

The group said the Iranian attack resulted in the death of three company employees.

The refinery is located in Haifa Bay, according to Israeli media.

Additional input from APP.